One Piece at a Time
By Bobby Schaller, MultiMedia Manager
To tell the story of the last church standing in Betterton, Maryland, you have to first touch on the history of Betterton itself. The town sits atop and within a steep north facing hill where the Chesapeake Bay and the Sassafras River meet. Founded as a true fishing village, Main Street begins at the water’s edge. Naturally, Betterton became a great location for local farmers and watermen to ship their products to larger markets in Baltimore and beyond. As the town grew, so did the need for faith, and Methodists began congregating at The Old Crew Homestead in 1868. During the first part of the century, Betterton would become a place to vacation for city folk escaping the summer’s heat. With the town’s rapid growth, the hard workers of Betterton needed a larger and more permanent place of worship. They found one at the top of the hill and, in 1914, began building the church that continues to stand today, overlooking the Bay, at the corner of Main Street and 3rd Avenue.
Betterton Methodist Church is one story, with an expansive gable roof, an engaged square bell tower and unique Catholic-style stained glass windows on all sides. Unfortunately, when the Chesapeake Bay Bridge opened in 1952 vacationers started to take the drive down to the ocean, bypassing Betterton. By and by, Betterton’s tourism industry waned along with the church’s upkeep.
Walking in one Sunday morning, Pastor Bill Carroll noticed a large part of the stucco wall hanging high above the entrance. While knocking the mortar down, he knew right away something had to be done. The church had enough money to fix the bell tower’s siding but after that, they had to get creative. They brainstormed and started fundraising and looking for grants. Being a Choptank member himself, he applied for a Choptank Trust donation. Choptank awarded three donations over five years totaling $11,500 toward church renovations. Realizing it would take quite a bit more, church leadership decided to renovate one piece at a time.
The beautiful stained glass windows were in bad shape. Harkening back to days of old when most folks were illiterate, they are a parable of Jesus’ life and purpose. They also hold clues to the town’s history. With opalescent glass, predominantly lavender, green, beige, and sky blue, each panel is topped with a stylized fleur-de-lis. They had not been touched in years and had holes in some of the panes. All windows were restored to their original shape and then protected by plexiglass, the front doors were replaced and ceiling fans were installed. This really helped the energy efficiency of the church, keeping folks cool in the summer, warm in the winter and allowing more light in. They opened up the interior of the church to make it more inviting and began replacing lightbulbs with LEDs. Doing a little bit at a time was starting to work.
The church was making due with whatever they had. “A lot of stuff that you see happen here, it’s happened because the community makes it happen. Choptank included,” said Pastor Bill. Church members helped out in any way possible by reviving and painting the cross, replacing all the gutters, restoring the bell tower, cutting the grass, landscaping and snow removal. With no air conditioning, Pastor Bill even found and revived old oscillating electric fans from the ‘30s to keep folks cool. Still, the church needed more resources, especially for the exterior.
“The Lord works in mysterious ways. One day you are without, while the next you have plenty,” recalled Pastor Bill as his face still lights up with astonishment. Choptank published a story in Cooperative Living in June of 2021 about the church’s renovations. From that, anonymous members found out about the effort and sent them a handsome check with a note that said, “if you need more let us know.” the church replied with a thank-you card and was sent another generous check and the renovation was able to continue.
The exterior renovation ensued and the church was restored to, as close as possible, its original form. The restoration has been a success. Sunday mass is now held every Sunday instead of every other and attendance has increased dramatically. A celebration was held recently, with live music and catering to commemorate the completion.
“Betterton Methodist Church has served the community for nearly 150 years. Choptank Electric Trust looks to support organizations who serve their community as well as respect the history of the area. With the support of the Choptank Electric Trust and much fundraising, Betterton Methodist Church was able to complete much-needed repairs to their facilities and continue to support the community in and around the town of Betterton,” said Kent County Trust Board Member Sharon Redding.
"This is the last church in town, it means a lot to the community. Even if they don’t come to church, this is their church."
- Pastor Bill Carroll
When asked what the church’s renovation means to the people of Betterton, Pastor Bill Carroll had this to say. “A church is never designed to draw on the community. It’s always been designed, by Christ, to help the community. Choptank’s gracious donations are a big part of us reaching our goal to restore our church. Aside from the fact that it’s now very energy efficient, the safety and overall look reassures our community that when they are in need of help, the church is here for them.”
To learn more about our Operation Round Up® Trust program, go to > www.choptankelectric.coop/operation-round-trust-fund
To learn more about the church, go to > www.stillbetterchurch.org